hawkeye_wx

I didn't get much rain from this as a weaker part of the line moved through Cedar Rapids, but we did get a very brief downpour. It's great to take a whiff of the mild, rainy spring air. I love that smell.

So is the NWS just going to stick with the unusable garbage radar they've switched to? Why can't they just go back to the perfectly-adequate old radar, but simply switch from Flash to something else?

The overnight warmth (55-60º all night) took care of any remaining speck of snow in my neighborhood.

The Wednesday morning rain/thunder really fizzled for my area, instead tracking farther nw. All I got was a spritz. I'm hoping a decent line can solidify and move through this evening.

It's becoming pretty interesting Sunday/Monday as the central plains bowling ball system ejects east and occludes. The GFS and GFSv16 are very aggressive with snow across Iowa. This morning's Euro wasn't bad, either. As the system moves east, while the deep moisture plume is still intact, the rain/snow line crashes south.

After today's nearly-70º with strong wind, even the last snow piles are nearly gone.

Iowa City has hit 71º. Cedar Rapids is 67º, still great. It appears it will be a while before we see temps like this again.

Moline is officially 70º.

The snow cover and southeast wind over northeast/east-central Iowa continue to play a major factor in temps. My yard is closing in on 60º.

Today is the first day we finally make a big jump out of the 40s. We're expecting 60º.

Officially, the snow here is gone. There is obviously still some scattered snow, plus the piles, but green is quickly expanding. My measuring spot had 18", now 0. Visible satellite still shows white in rural areas all around Cedar Rapids. The next two days should get rid of all of it.

The potential big action mid next week has really sh*t the bed, as cyclone would say. Instead of a big slug of energy that slowly ejects into the plains and wraps up, it appears dominant northern stream energy will sweep through and shear everything out. Forget severe weather. Models now barely even drop any rain here.

We hit the low 50s, but I'm still measuring 5" of snow in my backyard.

The Cedar Rapids airport, still out in the reflective snow field in between CR and Iowa City, is only in the mid 40s, but here in the city we've hit the low 50s for the first time this season.

I would also give this winter an A. The only thing we missed out on is a real big storm. We had several solid to good snow events, but the 8.5" in late December was the biggest. 10" is the line where we cross into high-end snow, but we only get one or two of those per decade. We haven't had one since 2015. We get heavy snow and we get long-duration light-to-moderate snow, but it's difficult to get long-duration heavy snow.

I'm curious to see how high the temperature here gets today. The wind has switched to the south, but several models still keep us in the mid 30s. The Euro says 42º. DVN says 44º.

All models are on board some significant action mid next week as early spring warmth and moisture surges north into the region.

My backyard snow depth has fallen to 7-8".

The snow cover in my backyard is down from 18" to 11".

The northern plains had such a warm December and January, even the long-duration February cold couldn't get them anywhere close to average for winter. The lack of snow up there didn't help.

During winter cold, a mask is actually pretty warm when I walk out of a store. It may suck in July, but it's nice in January. I can certainly see people wearing one during the cold season. Now that we are all accustomed to wearing a mask and seeing everyone else wearing one, nobody will feel out of place or embarrassed while wearing one in the future. It will be very easy to just throw one on if you feel like it may offer protection, without having any worry that others might stare at you and wonder why you are wearing it.

Models are targeting the March 6-7 period for a surge of warmth into the western sub... perhaps the first 50s or even 60s here.

The nearby Hy-Vee pharmacy just had a cancelation, so my mom will be getting her shot today.

Regarding masks, if case numbers crash to very low numbers by summer, and few people who have been vaccinated are dying or even having any major issues with the virus, and it's hot and humid outside, an increasing number of people will begin to think, "Why am I still wearing this thing?"

How are you and others, close to my age (46), or even younger, getting the shot so early? My 76-year-old mom still hasn't been able to get an appointment. I don't expect to be able to get one for a few months.